John DeBakey

Elective Activity #2- Teacher Web Sites

Oct. 2, 2005

Teacher Web Sites

Description:

This web site is created for elementary schools levels and it discusses the usefulness of apples. The site could be used in a variety of elementary classrooms. For example, science teachers could benefit from this site because the sites major focus is the use of apples and their varieties. A social studies teacher could also benefit from aspects of the site because there are links to the life of Johnny Appleseed and an English teacher could benefit from the word search activities.

Commendations:

1. As I stated above, is that teachers in different content areas could use certain aspects of this site to instruct their students.

2. This site has excellent links to activities and other web sites about apples and Johnny Appleseed for students.

3. The site also contains online resources for teachers to use. Teachers can use these if they want to use other online sources to if they want to teach students about apples.

Recommendations:

1. I would recommend a discussion or chart page where students can have online discussions with one another about the research they have found.

2. The teacher should post an online bulletin board where students can post the projects they have worked on during class.

3. I think doing a web site activity would be fun if teachers from different parts of the country got together to do online activities between schools. This way, students can interact with students using computers and learn from one another. Since this web site is so good I am sure other elementary teachers would benefit from using this site with their students.

Web Site #2: WebQuests

Description:

This web site was created by a school district so students had easy access to information. The site is geared for middle school students and it would be extremely helpful in a social studies class. There are also some sites teachers could use in science and math classes as well. Each link takes students to research materials and activities to do.

Commendations:

1. There are a variety of different topics to research. For example, students can find information on things such as the Industrial Revolution to the role of women during World War II.

2. Students are engaged in different learning activities, such as writing speeches, role playing, and taking virtual trips.

3. Students can post their work within each webquest so that other students can see what they have done.

Recommendations:

1. I noticed how some of the links didn’t work. This can be very frustrating because as a teacher if I want to find information on a site and the link doesn’t work it defeats the purpose of the webquest.

2. I noticed some of these sites hadn’t been updated. I think for webquests to be an effective learning tool teachers need to update the work of their students to post on the internet.

3. I think the site would be better if the site had broken down the links into categorizes to make it easier for a user to find the appropriate link. The sites are simply listed in no order and it can be difficult find a link to click on.